Second Annual IAF Casino Night a Strong Success

Aug 13, 2014

CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Department of Athletics ushered in its 2014-15 academic year with a
bang, as the Islander Athletic Fund Casino Night on Saturday, Aug.
9, was a rousing success for the department. A capacity crowd of
300 gave their support to the IAF through the evening’s
festivities.

“This year’s Casino Night was an outstanding
event,” Director of Athletics Scott Lazenby said. “It
had great food, great participation and great fun for everyone in
attendance. Our IAF members helped us raise nearly $30,000 that
will go directly toward funding the scholarships for our
student-athletes.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Jimmy Frush,
Suzette Hamer and all our staff for the hard work they put in to
make the second annual Casino Night a success,” he added.
“I can’t wait for next year’s event.”

Thomas Houck was the overall chip winner, taking home the trophy
with a chip count of over 73,000 from the night’s gaming,
narrowly edging Eric Hernandez. Donna Netek, Richard King and Jim
Potts rounded out the top five winners on the evening.

Mike Gillaspia and Rachel Cole, from KRIS6 News Sunrise, served
as the event’s emcees, while Wes Hoskins of First Community
Bank served as the live auctioneer. Russo’s Coal-Fired
Italian Kitchen supplied an Italian buffet for the guests, while
Just Like Vegas Casino Parties supervised the gaming and Rene
Bosquez of Blue Moon Entertainment handled the DJ duties.

The Islander Athletic Fund (IAF) is the official fundraising
organization of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Athletics.
Gifts to the IAF support the scholarships and overall experience
for the 15 Division I sports on the Island. Annual donations are
directly applied towards student-athlete tuition, room and board,
textbook expenses and academic fees, and help strengthen our goal
of winning championships with integrity.

To donate to the IAF or for more information, visit
GoIslanders.com/IAF or call Associate AD for Development Jimmy
Frush at 825-3237.